Diagrams of the Middle Ages

I've been stuck in management quagmire (and something terribly depressing happened today that not even massive amounts of wine can fix) and therefore, haven't had the pleasure of dealing with a lot of crazy patron shit. Boooooo, that means no good stories! Oh ho ho, you are wrong, because, rest assured, I have pulled an oldie but a goodie from the vault. This still remains one of my top ten favorite reference intereactions EVER!!!!!!!! This happened within the first few months of me being a reference librarian, before I entered the wacko world of management. It is a classic.

Teenage Patron: I need diagrams of the Middle Ages.

Me: Ok. Would you like something like, say, some paintings?

TP: No, pictures. Diagrams.

Me: Wait, you mean, photographs?

TP: Yeah.

Me: Well, there aren't photographs. There are drawings and paintings and such. There wasn't really any sort of camera back then.

TP: (sounding exasperated with me) NO! NOT MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVIES. I don't want movies, just pictures.

Me: Back then, there weren't movies and there wasn't really film because it wasn't invented yet.

TP: Ohhhhhh... So, even if I don't want movies of the Middle Ages, you don't have pictures either.

Me: People really didn't start using film to about the 1800s, which is way past the Middle Ages. [Hands the kid an encyclopedia]

TP: [Thumbs through it] So, no movies, no cameras, this is what people did? [Rolls his eyes] I guess this'll work, but it's too bad there aren't pictures or a movie I can watch.